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Hi everybody,
I'm gonna need a new yard before too long and I was wondering how do you usually find somebody willing to let you put hives on there land ? Also what kind of arrangement you make with them ? If you Pay them with honey how much do you give them per hive ?

I haven't done this a lot, but I would look around, maybe run an ad in the local farm paper. Play up the pollenation aspects. You should be able to find someone wise enough to WANT the bees so they can get better crops and arrange it for free and then give them some honey as a courtesy, not as rent.

But if the best you can arrange is honey for rent, then I'd make it a flat amount, not per hive, just because the number of hives during the year goes up and down.

Try your County Ag Extension or the Cornell Co-Op Extension. They usually have some type of local produce / farm listing. Talk to the local farms stand. They usually only grow some of what they sell. They can point you to their growers for berries and fruits.

I have found that finding places to put hives is not a problem, you just need to get out and talk with people. Usually most people are just happy with honey when they need it, along with the improvement in their crops.

I have hives currently at (3) yards other then my own property and will be starting another this spring.

[This message has been edited by MountainCamp (edited March 10, 2004).]

[This message has been edited by MountainCamp (edited March 10, 2004).]

Based on horror storeis I've heard, I would brand the hives and get a simple contract that says the hives are yours and you have permission to have them there. Otherwise possession is 9/10's of the law.

Ditto what has already been said, go out and talk to landowners. I usually give my landowners a gallon of honey, more if they want it and can use it. Many commercial beekeepers here give a 5 gallon pail and then the landowner never uses it. With a smaller number of hives in a location you may want to adjust accordingly.

I happened to spend today day riding around looking for people. Looking is the right word cuz you find that most of the people arent home! Get a good map, platbook etc and start trying to find people. If you know someone in the area it helps to at least find out where the owner lives.....it could be miles from where the land you are looking at is located.

My preference for these parts is to find the large farmers who make their living at it. My tract record with them over the years is much better than with small homeowner type plots, etc but that might vary by geography.

I give them what they can use for honey. It varies by place....some use a couple pounds a year, some places get a case of 1# jars for the family and relatives, some will use 5 gallons a year. Ive never run into people wanting more than they use but if you give them more than they use it will just sit in their garage and eventually get thrown out.

Over the years, I can think of 2 or 3 times when either myself or another have paid cash for a location. Not something that I'd suggest but sometimes it works if it has super honeymaking, covers huge tract of land and can guarantee that no other keeper can get close enough to access it.

To share the philosophy of Richard Taylor from "The Joys of Beekeeping", (paraphrased) I usually provide 2lbs per hive to the landowner, more if it's a good location, less if it's not. His exception to this rule was the landowner who wanted a bottle of whiskey...... placed by the hives where his wife wouldn't see it.....

Eheh, that's funny. I happen to know a beekeeper over the internet who hides other things inside the hives.

Personally I don't have the ability to find fine beeyards. I live in a small city, and unless I want to drive some distance, residential plots will have to do. Otherwise I will be spending more time in the car than is productive.

I just kept them in my backyard most everywhere I lived. Never had more then three or four hives when I lived in town. Tried to do combines etc. to keep it to two strong ones and maybe a couple of nucs.

I've had up to six hives at home in a subdivision with 1-acre lots. Biggest problem has been the bees robbing hummingbird feeders of a neightbor. I do give out some honey to the immediate (next door) neighbors.